Commodity markets and funds enjoy the third quarter

Swiss commodity fund manager Tiberius Asset Management, said in its latest monthly commentary that the commodity market ended the third quarter mostly on positive territory with all major commodity indices posting gains during the period.

It said that the broadly diversified Dow Jones UBS Commodity Index gained +2.40%, outpacing the Rogers International Commodity Index (+1.35%) and the S & P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (-0.23%). The slightly weaker performance of the latter two indices was mainly due to their higher weighting of crude oil, which proved to be one of September’s underperformers with -2.9% (WTI) and -0.4% (Brent), Tiberius reported.

Separately, Swiss Asia Capital (Singapore) Pte Ltd., Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Juerg Kiener, reported that commodities funds were up 10% in September. He added that commodity performance was led by precious and industrial metals, while the energy complex posted negative returns, as the accelerating collapse in European demand has the potential to more than offset new demand growth in China and the US. Inflationary expectations have heightened, and were accompanied by a weaker US Dollar. This recent round of QE further exacerbates an environment of 'currency wars’, which ultimately benefits real assets, particularly those in short supply" (See Opalesque Exclusive: ......................